Who was/is Glen Glenn ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more

Glen Glenn

Glen Rocks

It seems to be etched in stone that rock 'n' roll was invented in Memphis, Tennessee, one summer night in 1954 by a young truck driver named Elvis Presley. Many would have you believe that Memphis was the only city in America where such a convergence of white and black music could occur, and young Mr. Presley was a genius of the highest order who created rock 'n' roll single-handedly of his own design.

Of course, this notion is false. Just as there were dozens of people at the turn of the century working on the invention of the automobile, the real story behind the invention of rock 'n' roll is a convoluted one, filled with more interesting twists and turns than the Mississippi River.

Our story concerns another very important city at a very important time—Los Angeles, California in the 1950s—and two energetic young musicians who came of age during this exciting time period—Glenn Troutman, aka Glenn Trout, aka Glen Glenn, and his guitar playing compatriot, Gary Lambert.

Perhaps nowhere in America was there such a diverse melting of cultures as Los Angeles in mid-century. Hillbillies from the South worked side by side with Mexican immigrants, African-Americans came from the Eastern United States for the multitude of factory jobs, and scores of other cultures converged in Southern California as well.

Along with this vast influx of immigrants came some of the finest music from across the country. Dust Bowl migrants such as the Maddox Brothers & Rose brought rowdy hillbilly and country music from their native Alabama to the West Coast; African-American performers such as Louis Jordan, Pee Wee Crayton, and Slim Gaillard brought their rhythm & blues and jazz to Central Avenue in Los Angeles; Jewish music impresarios like Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller produced doo-wop and blues within the black community; and the sounds of Mexico wafted out of almost every neighborhood from the San Fernando Valley to San Diego, wherever there were Mexican immigrants doing migrant farm labor.

This was the atmosphere that bred Glenn and his music, and that inspired the guitar playing of Gary Lambert. A richer mixture of musical inspiration could hardly be imagined. While Elvis certainly was the important catalyst in the explosion of rock 'n' roll, the fact is that the seeds had already been planted all across the country, and it was just a matter of time before this new music sprang to life.

The records that Glenn made rank as some of the finest of the era, and have stood the test of time as perhaps the best examples of rockabilly to emerge from Los Angeles in the 1950s. Although all of Glenn’s singles, demos, and live tracks have been reissued before, over a series of seven vinyl albums and compact discs, this is the first attempt to do a comprehensive collection of everything together in one place.

This disc represents all the original single recordings that Glenn made for ERA and Dore Records in the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as several alternate takes, demos, and live recordings. The rest of the alternate takes, demos, and live recordings will be issued next year on a companion disc.

The story of Glen Glenn begins in Joplin, Missouri, where he was born Orin Glenn Troutman on October 24, 1934. Joplin was a small town tucked away in the Ozark Mountains, and country music figured heavily into its heritage (Grand Ole Opry member Porter Wagoner was also from the same area, and is in fact Glenn’s cousin by marriage).

Fate intervened in 1948 when the Troutman family loaded up the truck and moved westward to San Dimas, California, located about an hour east of Los Angeles. Like thousands of others from the South, Glenn’s family came west for the promise of a better life. Little did they know the sort of opportunities it opened up for the young burgeoning musician in their family...

1-CD DigiPac (6-plated) with 68-page booklet, 25 tracks, playing time 55:49 minutes. Glen Glenn is perhaps California’s best known original 1950s rockabilly outside of Eddie Cochran . A veteran of the fertile California country music scene of the 1950s, Glen...

1-CD-album DigiPac (6-sided) with 56-page booklet, 36 tracks, playing time 79:16 minutes. Last year we released 'Glen Rocks,' a compilation of Glen Glenn ’s famous rockabilly sides such as Everybody’s Movin’, One Cup Of Coffee, Blue Jeans And A Boys Shirt , and...